The present invention relates to an image processing method, an image processing apparatus, a program for executing or operating the foregoing, and a storage medium in which the aforementioned program is stored.
With recent progress of processing technologies for digital image signals, there is available a service to store and preserve image signals taken from a silver halide film and a print by the use of a scanner, in a storage medium such as CD. In this service, if a user takes a silver halide film or a print on hand to a photo-finishing lab, the user can get CD or the like storing image signals corresponding to the images of the aforementioned silver halide film or print. Thus, the user does not need to pay attention to control for preservation of the silver halide film, and can appreciate images by using his or her personal computer according to circumstances, or to distribute copies, which is a merit.
Since the user takes a picture while holding a silver halide based camera horizontally or vertically depending on a photographic object posture, a direction of the image taken on a silver halide film varies in accordance with a horizontal position or vertical position. Therefore, if image signals taken from a silver halide film or a print by the use of a scanner are stored in CD or the like as they are, the longitudinal direction of the image agrees with the horizontal direction on a monitor, resulting in a problem that it is difficult to observe, when the image taken in the vertical position is displayed by a user on a monitor, for example. In this case, if an image processing software is installed in the personal computer, the image on the monitor can be rotated by using the software. However, if the image processing software is not installed, or if the user is not used to operations of the personal computer, the image cannot be rotated easily, which is a problem. In the aforementioned service, therefore, based on image signals taken from a silver halide film or a print by the use of a scanner, a worker judges each direction of the image from images displayed actually, and stores and preserves in a storage medium such as CD after conducting image processing so that longitudinal directions of all images may agree with a vertical direction on the monitor, for example. However, there is a demand for mechanizing these operations because it is time-consuming to conduct the operations for all images in a huge amount.
Similar problems are caused also in the case to store a series of image signals on a storage medium such as CD after photographing by the use of digital still cameras.
In the following Patent Document 1, there is disclosed a method wherein positional relations of parts of a face (eyes, mouth, hair or the like) in an image and positional relations of constituents (arms and legs) of a body are used to determine automatically the direction of the image. When this method is used, the direction of an image can be obtained at a certain probability.
[Patent Document 1]                TOKKAIHEI No. 8-138024        
In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, however, there has been a problem that the oriented direction of the image cannot be determined, when a face is not included in an image. Further, even in the case where a face is included in an image, it is not always easy to recognize the face correctly as a face of a person, at this stage, and it is further difficult to obtain a positional relation for parts of the face. Therefore, owing to the incorrect recognitions of them, there has been a fear that the oriented direction of the image cannot be determined accurately.